


The Nineteenth Century Has Been Grand, The Twenty-First Will Be Gay

by Icarus_Flying_Not_Falling



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: All of les amis - Freeform, M/M, Not on my watch, Past!Enjolras, Present!Grantaire, Stuff happens, The usual suspects - Freeform, Time Travel, ain't no one dying today, ep and gav may appear not sure yet, same with pontmercy and the angelic cosette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:54:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8615836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icarus_Flying_Not_Falling/pseuds/Icarus_Flying_Not_Falling
Summary: (Get it, the title is a play on words...wow that's bad)Essentially it's the day the marriage equality stuff happens in Ireland and Grantaire, who worked tirelessly or this to be achieved, gets sent back in time to 1832...in FULL celebration costume (rainbows and all) to be found by Les Amis. Stuff happens





	1. Chapter 1

Grantaire was prominent in the throng of people, all of whom were dancing, singing, and drinking as loudly as they could. Their heavy face paints and banners were messier than they had been several hours earlier, when the celebrations started, but the brightness and the feeling of being alive was tangible. Grantaire was clumsily marching down the street, arm in arm with two strangers who were joined in the celebrations, while all his notes were held in a bag on his back. It had, after so long, happened. Marriage equality was reached. Grantaire had already kissed two people, not out of any attachment, but just to have the feeling that all was right with the world. He knew there was still much work to be done in the world, but this was a start, and one he could afford to revel at a while longer. 

Many people twirled around him, congratulating him or thanking him tearfully. It was his speeches after all, that had contributed so strongly to this outcome. He had slaved away for several years now to achieve this, and he could cry with the knowledge that he had done it. He was historic. He had changed his country forevermore. Even if some might only consider it a small success, he would forever be at peace with the knowledge he had done this at least.  
The crowd around him suddenly became a flurry of more frantic movement, fear now replacing the air of pure joy. Initially Grantaire was confused, until he saw the group of men.  
He recognized them from some of the rallies he had led. They were extremely against the marriage equality bill, and had been a hassle to him more than once before. They caught sight of him in the crowd, and charged. Everyone panicked and bolted. Grantaire attempted to get away but found himself shoved hard to the ground, and hit with a volley of kicks to his stomach. One of the attackers straddled his stomach and lay punches heavily to his face, breaking his nose and leaving blood smearing the rainbow paint adorning his face, and dripping onto the rainbow cape he was wearing. He launched his fist at the man sitting on his stomach, managing to catch him off guard and throw him off, then clamber to his feet and run. The adrenalin led Grantaire running into an alley, and it appeared the only exit of the alley was an old door, which stood ever so slightly ajar. Adjusting the bag on his back, he stepped through the door and found himself spinning into darkness.

\---

Paris, 1832

Enjolras surveyed the back room of the Café Musain, smiling slightly as his friends celebrated around him. He wasn't quite sure what they were celebrating, as there was still much work to be done to prepare for their revolution, but he would let them celebrate for celebration's sake. He sighed as he watched Courfeyrac and Combeferre 'secretly' hold hands under the table. Such acts were no longer illegal, but to say they were accepted was a far stretch from the truth. Although he never let on to his friends, he did have his nights where he would lie awake and believe change to be impossible. He tried to remind himself in such times that "the nineteenth century has been grand, but the twentieth century would be happy". It helped him to think such matters, but try as he might, the possibility of love between two males being accepted by society was something he could not picture. He could cry at the thought, as he looked between the love-struck smiles of Bahorel and Jehan, the secret whispers of Bossuet, Joly and Musichetta, and the handholding of his dearest friends.  
Suddenly, a man walked into the room. Everyone gaped, Enjolras included. The man was very unusually dressed to say the least. He wore multi-coloured clothing that put Jehan's outfit to shame, including a cape and face paint reminiscent of a rainbow. It was, perhaps, these bright colours that disguised the fact that the man was injured. As soon as this realisation occurred, everyone crowded around him, Combeferre and Joly immediately giving orders to people. Bahorel lifted the man onto the main table that Enjolras had been sitting at, and Enjolras delicately removed the man's bag and cape, leaving him in only a bright green shirt and blue trousers, fashioned from some strange material. Musichetta bustled up to Combeferre, basin and cloth in hand. Combeferre took the cloth and, with care, wiped the paint from the man's face. As he did this, Enjolras looked on, enthralled by the man's beauty. He had olive skin and curly black hair, and even though his eyes were barely open, hints of his startling green eyes were visible. At an order from Combeferre, everyone else besides Joly and Enjolras slipped away to talk amongst themselves.  
The man's eyes were becoming more alert now, and the bleary pain was swept aside by sheer panic. That was understandable to Enjolras; the man had just been attacked clearly, and probably didn't know where he was or who he was surrounded by. He knelt beside the man and murmured as calmly as he could, "Hello citizen. I hope that you shall soon find yourself in good health. You seemed rather confused when you came here tonight. My name is Enjolras, and I welcome you here. Do you think you are able to tell us what happened to you?"  
His calm voice cut through Grantaire's panic, and his angelic face served as a stunning distraction to Grantaire also. With a shaky breath, Grantaire began to speak to this angel.  
"Oh, well hi I suppose. I'm Grantaire. And right, I was walking down the street then some guys came along and bashed me, then I guess I came in here. Now, not to be rude or anything, but what's with the funny outfits?" All of this was spoken in, what Enjolras thinks, is perhaps an Irish accent. It was peculiar to his ears, but at the same time was mesmerizing. The question brought a holt to his worship of this man's beauty however.  
"I'm dressed peculiarly? I believe it to be quite the opposite. What has brought you to be dressed in such a fashion?"  
Grantaire snorted and grinned, suddenly unable to contain his excitement, which truly baffled Enjolras.  
"I don't know where you've been for the past few hours man, I'm celebrating! Ya know...the marriage equality bill? Love wins and all that? This looks like a busy place, surely people have been in here celebrating?"  
The more Grantaire spoke, the more confused Enjolras became. Marriage equality? Was this something to do with women's rights? If so, why was a man so ecstatic about it? And yet what else could it mean?  
"We have had no such celebrations here, and this is the first I have heard about such an idea."  
At this, Grantaire's face fell. He had hoped this angel in strange clothes could be interested in him, but it seemed he had misjudged. 'No such celebrations?' Was this then, a more conservative place? If so, he should leave as soon as possible to avoid anymore unfavourable encounters. As it was, this man, Enjolras, did not seem a supporter of his cause in any form, so it was most likely unwise to be there. He sat up as fast as he could and, with slight difficulty, ran from the room, much to the shock of all who were present. Enjolras seemed the most confused, and chased after the man immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjolras learns about the future. I didn't read over this, so it probably is baaaaaaaad, but in my had it was cute???
> 
> Heck yeah R is a great speaker. I need my child to shine coz he's a diamond in the rough XD
> 
> Comments would be cool beans ay?

It did not take long for Enjolras to find Grantaire. As soon as he had left the building, Grantaire had frozen in shock. The scene before him was like nothing he had seen before. The dingy alley he had walked through did not greet him as he left the Musain. Instead, a cobbled street full of beggars and honest to God carriages stood before him, complete with people in old fashioned clothing. Had he...surely he couldn't have....travelled in time? He probably just had a concussion from the attack. He tried to convince himself of this, but the scene all seemed very real to Grantaire, who suddenly felt small, and afraid. 

It is perhaps lucky then, that Enjolras found him then, and upon some thought, guided him back to Enjolras' own apartment. Let it not be said that he was not generous when he needed to be. Grantaire seemed to be in a state of shock, so after Enjolras helped him onto his couch, he brought a glass of wine for the man. Upon seeing the glass however, Grantaire shook his head firmly, managing to stutter out that he does not drink. This pleased Enjolras, who watched his friends get drunk all too often. After he had placed the glass back in his kitchen, he joined Grantaire on the couch, shrugging out of his coat and unbuttoning his waistcoat for comfort. Shakily, Grantaire asked the only question that had been on his mind since he left the Musain: "What year is it?"

Enjolras was stunned. How could this man not know what year it was? Did he suffer memory loss from his attack? Deciding this must be the case, he replied back gently,  
"1832"  
This answer did nothing to sooth Grantaire, who's breathing was increasing rapidly. Enjolras lay a calming hand on his shoulder, asking;  
"What answer were you exactly looking for?"  
Grantaire, gulping in air frantically, managed to respond with "2015".

Both men stared at each other in shock. So Grantaire had travelled back in time. Meanwhile Enjolras was mulling over this turn of events. This would explain why the man was in strange clothing, and speaking of unknown events. But, he would need some proof at least, to make sure this wasn't some joke designed by Courfeyrac. When he conveyed his thoughts to Grantaire, the other man set about removing objects from his bag. Enjolras looked on, fascinated.

Grantaire started off simply, showing a newspaper he had picked up that day from the local store. Enjolras gazed in delight at the date on the paper, and the quality it was printed in, but before he had a chance to read the paper, he was presented with new objects. One was a series of stickers modelled on the colours of the rainbow, and another was a sleek metal and glass device. Grantaire demonstrated how his phone worked, taking photos of Enjolras and showing him how texting happened, then left him to look through the items. He picked up the phone again, and began going through the photographs. Many featured people wearing rainbow colours, which must be of some significance in the future. Some of the photos seemed to be at modern rallies, where people in their rainbow costumes all listened to Grantaire, who stood radiant at the front of the crowds. In some of these pictures, people were angry, in some they were crying, and in others they looked determined; the same look Les Amis got at rallies. Then the most recent photos came up on the screen and Enjolras couldn't help a rare grin slide onto his face. These were much merrier. Clearly drunk people running down the streets, people hugging tightly and crying and all of them smiling. The future looked wonderful and alive. Then he turned to some of the last photos and - oh. 

On the screen, at the forefront of the photograph, two men were passionately kissing, while Grantaire stood behind them grinning and pointing at them with one hand, while the other hand held a sign saying 'Love Wins'. So this was not looked down upon in the modern age? Men were free to love each other? When Grantaire caught sight of the photo he was looking at, he man from the future began to stutter out an explanation.  
"Well, you see...I guess in your time this stuff is bad and all, but -you okay there?"  
He had to put a halt to his explanations as he saw tears running down Enjolras's cheeks. Enjolras nodded, so unbelievably happy and overwhelmed.  
"I just...we are free to love whoever we choose, in your future?"  
Understanding dawned on Grantaire's face, and he set about explaining.  
"Well yeah. There are some countries that will kill you for it, and not everyone is happy with it, but it's a lot better than it used to be. Equality is on the rise! Just like today. After years of fighting for this cause, we finally won marriage equality."  
Enjolras was enraptured by Grantaire's speech, but still had no idea what marriage equality meant. Upon hearing this, Grantaire grinned, anticipating Enjolras' reaction.  
"It means that men can marry men, and women can marry women."

At these words, Enjolras, who was very overwhelmed, threw himself into Grantaire's arms, hugging him fiercely.  
Grantaire could not help but play with Enjolras' hair as he explained more about the movement for marriage equality. He talked about his protests, showing some of his speeches he had done, and explained the significance of the rainbow. He also explained why he had been attacked, and the danger that some still faced for being homosexual. Enjolras listened in awe of this new future. If they all lived in that future, his friends could be married. HE could be married, if he only found someone who loved him. Looking at Grantaire, he wishes he could share that future with him. As it was, he couldn't wait to tell all his friends about this future, and see their joy mirroring his own.

"So, is there someone in the future that you will be marrying?" He found himself asking, hoping for a negative answer.  
"There was, for a time. Things didn't work out how I hoped though, so I had to call off the relationship." Grantaire sighed, and, seeing Enjolras's eager face, elaborated.  
"I don't know about this place, but in my world it is not accepted for people within a relationship to hit their partner. My ex-fiancé, Michael, began to hit me frequently, and it got to a really bad point where he wouldn't let me out of the house or let me have money or contact my friends. In the end I managed to get out of that, but you know, kind of shook me. Turned to alcohol for a while but that got out of hand too, so I quit drinking."

Enjolras was disgusted that someone would treat this wonderful man from the future with such cruelty, and tried to process the idea of someone wanting to hurt Grantaire. It upset him such violence and savageness still continued into the present, but it was a relief to know some things had most definitely improved. Grantaire, who was clearly thinking along the same lines, added to his last statement, "I was celebrating before I travelled back in time...maybe we could continue such celebrations?" At a nod from Enjolras, Grantaire giggled and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Then allow me to introduce to you...the wonders of modern music and dance, my friend!"


End file.
